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San Diego: Sun, Surf and Cerveza

If you love a good beer and you happen to find yourself in San Diego you may have just stumbled onto craft beer nirvana. We Blog Beers had the pleasure recently of visiting this sunny Southern California destination, and if you promise to keep it a secret, we’ll tell you this (hushed tones): San Diego is doing fabulous things with the fermentation of wort. The area is embracing its hometown brews, and a selection from San Diego’s best brewmasters can be found in area restaurants. And while it pained us to leave sunny San Diego and its fabulous brews behind, we leave you with this rundown of the best SD suds. Enjoy.

Editor’s Note: The three that stood out all happen to be darker beers. Sorry, we were in a dark beer groove, baby.

The Lost Abbey – Lost and Found – This is a dark beer with a great mouthfeel. It has a rich flavor brought out by the special raisin puree incorporated into the brewing process. The nose of this beer hints of fig and the aftertaste is nutty and dry. This bready brew is great by itself or with light appetizers.4 Beer Bobs, this is a great beer

Port Brewing Company – Old Viscosity – Known by its brewers as “The Big Black Nasty,” this is a blended beer that uses the characteristics of stout, porter, old ales and barley wines to create a beer that’s simply badass. Fall in love with its silky body, its chocolate, cocoa, burnt wood and vanilla overtones. Big, Black, Nasty, Good, that’s four

Karl Strauss – Boardwalk Black Rye – A black ale with a spicy hop taste. This is a good drinking double hop dark ale. It works great with steak or on its own in a conversation. Black and caramelized malts create interesting flavors and aromas. All I can say is sitting in the Gaslamp district outside with one of these in your hand is about as good as it gets. Beer Bob would drink 4 of these

Below is a listing of the craft brewers in San Diego. This may not be all of them, but it’s the ones that matter. Now before you go bellying up to the bar and ordering a pint you will want to educate yourself on the beers each brewery has. Click the link and browse.

Lost Abbey beers are made in the same San Marcos brewery with Port Brewing beers (because its owner is also a part owner of Pizza Port). Unique names like Avant Garde, Devotion, Judgment Day, Lost and Found Abbey Ale, and Witch’s Wit add to the mystique of its beers.